Taskbar-Unity Window Controls

Breakout that lives in your taskbar.

I wanted something I could mess with for thirty seconds between meetings without alt-tabbing away from anything. So I made Breakout sit on top of my taskbar — no launcher, no window chrome, just the ball and the bricks.

The window's invisible except for the game itself. Your taskbar still works underneath. Your other windows still work. The ball just bounces around down there while you pretend to be busy.

Pick a layout, clear the bricks, don't drop the ball. Lose all three lives and you start over — and quietly tell yourself you'll do better this time.

What it does

• Sits transparently over your taskbar — your clicks pass straight through the empty space

• Drag it anywhere, snap it to a corner, or fling it onto your second monitor

• Five layouts: classic, pyramid, diamond, the mean hollow one, and a checkerboard

• Move the paddle with A/D or the arrow keys — or just grab it with the mouse

• Three lives, a ball bounce counter

Before you download

• Windows only. It does some low-level window trickery that doesn't exist on Mac or Linux.

• It's a real download, not a browser game. That's the whole point — it lives on your desktop, not in a tab.

• First launch might pop a blue "Windows protected your PC" box. That's only because the .exe isn't signed (certificates cost money). Hit More info → Run anyway and you're fine.